Choosing the best bike tour companies: things to check before you book

1. The basics – where do you want to go and how much will it cost?

Different cycling tour companies cover different parts of the world and so the first thing to think about is where exactly you want to go. Do you fancy the challenging climbs of the Alps and the accompanying reward of stunning mountain views? Or perhaps you’d prefer a more reliably sunny climate like Spain where you can spend a bit of time relaxing on the beach too?

Step 1: Your first step should be to choose a destination, or at least narrow if down to the type of destination you fancy exploring on your bike. Stuck? Head to our inspiration page, in-depth cycling destination guides or our article on the best cycling destinations in Europe.

Step 2: Once you’ve decided where to go, compare some different tours. Think about the price (and what’s included/excluded for the price) and deposit. Also consider the cancellation policy and any single supplements.

Top tip: Our series of articles sharing tour companies we know in different countries and regions might be useful. You can also check out exclusive offers from companies we work with:

Bike tours come in all shapes and sizes: a bike tour in the Netherlands will be very different to a road bike tour in Colombia!

2. What kind of cycling holiday do you want?

There’s a bike holiday to suit every cyclist, from trips that focus on gran fondo events to relaxed cycling tours with an emphasis on sightseeing.

What’s important to you?

You’ll need to decide how long you want to spend in the saddle and how long you want to spend exploring the history, culture and gastronomy of the places you visit to find the best type of bike holiday for you.

Is your priority cycling or experiencing the country?

Do you want to tick off famous sights or get under the skin of the country and meet its people?

Do you want a private departure or a group trip experience?

Match the physical challenge to your fitness

Whilst some tours cover less than 30 kilometres of flat ground per day, more challenging tours might cover more like 100 kilometres a day and much more hilly terrain.

Think about your own fitness level and the distances you want to cover each day. Whilst a tour that includes 150 km and several big climbs each day might sound fantastic on paper, if you’re not fit enough for it, you’ll soon come to regret your decision! Likewise, if you book a tour with a flat 30 kilometres each day, you’re not going to get the level of challenge you wanted.

Don’t just focus on distance each day, the elevation profiles are extremely important.

Companies use terms like “beginner”, “leisure”, “advanced” and “avid” and each company has a slightly different ranking system, so if you’re worried dig for more detail!

How many days riding to you want?

Guided bike tours range from weekend trips to tours covering two weeks or more.

Pay close attention to the number of actual riding days your tour operator is offering. For example, it may be advertised as a six day trip but days one and two are more than likely going to be spent arriving and departing. Will there be a rest day in the middle? How many days actual biking will there be? Can you choose not to ride one day?

Talking of rest days, we all know they’re important to give our bodies a chance to recover. But depending on the length of the trip, your objectives and the number of riding days you’re looking for, you might want to delve into the detail of the rest days. Are there enough? Are there too many?! (In which case, check whether there’s an option to still ride on the rest day if you want to). Do they seem sensibly spaced out?

Top tip: Our inspiration page is a useful starting point as we’ve pulled together tours via many different themes, including coolcations, bike tours with non cycling partners and gravel bike holidays.

Do you want to spend time exploring or are you there purely to train?

3. Are the reviews positive?

Checking out the bike tour reviews should be a vital step before you commit to booking any cycling holiday.

Our bike tour inspiration page is useful as it shares tours by destinations and also by themes, such as e-bike tours, luxury bike tours and gravel bike tours. Also the articles give some personal insights about what we love about the companies we mention.

It’s worth also checking TripAdvisor, Trust Pilot and Google reviews to make sure that other cyclists recommend the tour and haven’t been left disappointed for any reason.

4. The best bike tour companies will be super helpful – is yours?

Before the tour

A good bike tour company should be available and willing to answer all your questions before you book. If you have to wait for days after sending an email enquiry, or they never answer the phone/return your calls, you should probably look for an alternative company.

If you have particular cycling tour in mind, ask the tour company how many years the trip has run for, so that you can be sure that they are experienced in that particular destination and the trip is well-planned out. Do you really want to be guinea pig?!

You could also see if there’s an Epic Road Rides guide to the destination and swot up on any particular must-do rides. If the tour company is good at their job, they’ll be able to engage with you in a sensible and knowledgeable conversation about those rides. We might even know the company ourselves – feel free to ask us or you can check our promotions page in case we have an exclusive offer for their tour.

During the tour

It’s also worth thinking about what communication will be like when you actually go on the tour. Will the person you got to know when booking the tour also be on the tour? If not, is that a problem?

How will communications work? For example, on a self-guided tour, is there a 24 hour phone line and, if not, what happens if you have a problem?

How does the company support guests if an unexpected event occurs, for example an extreme weather event?

Day 1, Elena from Rindo running through her checklist to make sure we were all set

5. Are they legit?!

This might sound boring, but in fact it’s a really important point: does the business you’re entrusting your holiday to comply with all the proper rules and regulations?

• Do they have a right to run tours in the country they’re operating in? For example, if you’re using a British-based business to go on a holiday in a European country, do they have the right to operate? If they’re not fully complying, it could affect your holiday.
• Do they have liability insurance?
• Are they bonded (e.g. via ABTA) or do they have financial failure insurance?
• Do they train their guides in guiding, customer service and first aid?
• Have they got appropriate plans in place in case of extreme weather or other unexpected circumstances?

These might be the kind of things you assume every business does/complies with, but it’s not always the case.

You might also want to ask whether the company you’re booking with will provide the holiday, as sometimes one company resells other company’s tours. While this is usually perfectly legitimate, it means that your booking contacts are a step removed from the company delivering the day to day service once you’re on the tour. If it’s important to you that the company you book with actually delivers the holiday, it’s something you should dig into.

Motto of the story: if you’re not sure, ask!

6. Are they experienced?

How long have they been running tours? This may give you an indication of how much time they’ve had to perfect their tours, incorporate feedback and gather experience of providing guests a fantastic experience in a varying range of weather and circumstances.

If the answer is “not long”, ask more questions. Are there other things that give you sufficient comfort to go ahead anyway – perhaps the team running the company have lived (and ridden) their whole lives in the area and come from a cycling tourism background?

It’s also worth asking how long they’ve been running the particular tour you’re interested in, and if you’re on a guided tour, their experience (more on that below).

7. How good are the routes?

Is it going to be an amazing ride? The riding is, after all, a big part of why you’re going on holiday!

Who designed the route? How often does the company check it? This is particularly important if you’re heading off-road.

Does the itinerary give you a clear idea of what the riding is going to be like? Are there detailed day by day notes that include the distance and elevation profiles so you can make sure the route sounds like a good fit for you?

Cycling back into Girona at the end of the tour

8. What will the food and accommodation be like?

Is a luxury hotel important to you, or would you be more comfortable in cheap and cheerful lodgings? Don’t waste money on cycling holiday with luxury accommodation if you’d be just as happy in a clean but basic room.

Will there always be somewhere secure for your bike? If you have an e-bike, will you definitely be able to charge it?

If you have any special dietary requirements such as vegetarian, vegan or gluten-free, be sure to check that these can be catered for, both in the hotel and with the roadside food options. In some countries, even seemingly easy dietary requirements like being a vegetarian, might not be a foregone conclusion!

On a cycling holiday, you’ll burn through a lot of calories while riding. Check whether the tour includes roadside snacks or whether you’re expected to provide them yourself.

Our cabin in the Leafde Fan Fryslân – accommodation on a boat bike tour will be very different to accommodation on a hotel based tour

9. How will you get to the start of the tour?

Nobody wants a stressful first day of a bike tour. To avoid this, do consider where the tour actually starts and how you’re going to get there.

In our experience, the most straightforward approach is where the operator meets you at the airport or train station of the city and then takes you to the starting line. In terms of price, it’s also important to understand who’s going to pay for that first night’s accommodation. Is that a night of the tour, or is that at your expense?

If you end up booking a tour that starts in a small town or village, do consider how you’re going to get to the hotel with all your luggage and whether there will, in fact, be taxis ready and waiting at the time that you arrive – as well as what they’ll cost!

10. What are the extra costs?

Work out what’s included in the fee you pay upfront, and what’s an extra cost. The cheapest cycling holidays might not offer the best value if you’re expected to pay for extras such as bike hire, entry into attractions, tips and food/drinks. Lunches are also often not included in the price.

Most cycling holidays are priced without flights and transfers so you’ll need to factor those costs in.

If you’re taking your bike too, rather than hiring, remember to add on any extra baggage charges and extra transfer costs. If you’re planning to hire a bike, what bike make and model will they supply, at what cost, and how frequently are they serviced?

For those based in the UK and Europe, European cycling holidays will obviously be cheaper than tours of far-flung destinations in South Africa, Asia, New Zealand or North America. However, even within Europe there can be huge differences in the cost of flights (this is a useful article with loads of tips on how to find cheap flights). It’s important to look up the cost of flights from your local airport when working out the total cost of various cycling holidays and deciding which offers the best value.

So to shortlist the best cycling tour companies for you, make sure you consider the extras!

11. Is the tour guaranteed to go ahead?

Each bike tour will need a minimum number of cyclist to go ahead. If you book a tour which isn’t yet guaranteed, there’s a chance that it will be cancelled if not enough cyclists join the trip. To avoid this, you could look for tours with ‘guaranteed departures’, which have already reached the minimum numbers. Or take a look at self-guided options, where minimum numbers are usually very low.

It’s not a good idea to book your flights/travel for a cycling trip which isn’t yet guaranteed, as you may lose money if it’s cancelled and you have to change your flights. Flights are often cheaper the further in advance you can book them, so a cycling tour which has guaranteed numbers even several months before departure is a solid bet.

If, for whatever reason, you end up needing to book travel etc around an unconfirmed trip, check your travel insurance to ensure you’re covered if the trip doesn’t go ahead. Otherwise, be prepared to take the risk!

Make sure you know the maximum number of the group before booking

12. Are they eco-friendly?

Given the importance of climate change, arguably this should be number 1 on your list! If it’s something you care about, you should definitely look into this. Don’t assume all cycling holidays are eco-friendly holidays – they’re not. We’ve written a whole article on how to have an eco-friendly cycling trip, here.

13. Extra questions for guided tours

Will the bike tour guide be brilliant?

In our experience, a good tour guide is a vital cog in the workings of a successful cycle holiday. Ideally, you’ll want a guide who speaks English as well as the local language of the country you’re exploring and has a good local knowledge to share with you about the culture and traditions of your destination.

Ask the bike tour company who the guide will be. Whilst some companies have their own in-house guides, others sub-contract these roles so may be less aware of what the guide is like and whether they’re properly trained and experienced.

You could ask the company whether it trains its guides and/or requires they have any formal qualifications in guiding and first aid.

It’s important to make sure that the bike tour company is willing to answer any questions you have about your tour guide and is confident in their abilities. If you’re particularly experienced, you might also want to check with the company regarding the guide’s skill and fitness level, to check they’re up to the task of keeping up with you! You could even ask for references for some extra reassurance.

The best bike tour companies will have excellent guides who know the route like the back of their hand. This photo shows stolen goat’s Hypervelocity jersey.

Who will be in the group?

Think about the demographics of your group and try to book a tour with like-minded cyclists if you can.

If you’re a solo traveller, you might prefer to book a specialist singles cycling holiday. A group bike tour for solo cyclists can be particularly good in the evenings, as others will be less likely to go off and do their own thing leaving you on your own!

There are women-only cycling holidays if that’s your thing, or some tours might be more popular with couples or families.

How big is the group?

You should check what the guide-to-guest ratio is for your bicycle tour. With six guests per guide, you can be confident of getting all the attention you need. In our experience, any more than fifteen guests makes it virtually impossible for the guide to keep track of you all; in these situations it’s worth asking whether there will be extra guides? If you are specifically looking for a guided tour, you don’t want to end up on what’s effectively a self-guided trip!

Smaller groups are generally better as you’ll enjoy a more tailored adventure. It may also allow the option to choose whether you want to do longer or shorter days/extra diversions depending on how you’re all feeling.

As well as the guide-to-guest ratio, check up on the number of other support crew – will there be a broom wagon at the back of the group? Will there be a mechanic and someone experienced in first aid (more on this below)?

How much roadside support will there be?

For complete peace of mind, look for bicycle tour companies that offer full roadside support with a fully-equipped back-up vehicle. A support vehicle offers the reassurance that, should you seize up and not be able to make it all the way, you and your bike always have a way to get back to the hotel. It’s also a handy place to keep your extra clothing, leg and arm warmers, sun cream, cameras and any other paraphernalia. And, of course, lots of snacks!

The best support car drivers are qualified first-aiders and also competent bike mechanics (or there are additional staff with these skills).

Whilst you’ll probably have no problem with simple tasks like mending a puncture on your own, having a dedicated bike mechanic in the support car can be a godsend should something more serious happen to your bike and you need some mechanical assistance.

Having someone to help if your bike breaks is one of the reasons many people sign up for a bike tour – make sure you know exactly how much help you can expect to get if the worst happens.

14. Are there any alternatives?

This article has focused on traditional cycling tour companies, the kind that offer guided and/or self-guided trips and as a minimum are happy to arrange your accommodation, luggage transfer, routes as well as provide back-up in case of emergency. 

However, this does come with a price tag. For those looking for a more cost-effective alternative, there are other solutions.  

DIY 

Organising your own holiday is the obvious way to reduce the cost of a trip. You’re on your own, but that might appeal! (And of course our site has tons of information to try and help anyone wanting to arrange their own trip.)

Checking out the route map at Innoshima Bridge 1

Stay at a cycle-friendly hotel

Cycle-friendly hotels often offer a myriad of services in addition to somewhere to rest your head. Of course, it depends on the hotel, but pick the right one and you should find someone who can help you arrange things like bike hire, guiding and mechanical support.

We’ve tried to take the hard work out of this – head to our accommodation page to find our picks of the best places to stay in various destinations.

“Guide only” 

Another alternative is to go “guide only”. “Guide only” is a term we use for what tends to be an independent guide offering a no-frills service to cyclists that want a day or two of riding with someone who’s there to show them the way and keep them company. It’s a bit like riding with a (paid!) friend. 

The details of what “guide only” means in practice varies from guide to guide. 

• You shouldn’t assume they have things like an official business operator license, training or insurance; in our experience, they normally won’t.  
• Usually, the guide will provide you with a route and ride with you, but any extras on top of that will be on a case-by-case basis.  
• If you want to make sure they offer a particular service or have particular expertise or qualifications, check with them before you book. 

While the unregulated nature of these kinds of informal guides may be a deal-breaker for some cyclists, there are positives: 

• Low overheads mean they tend to offer an attractive price.  
• These kind of guides tend to be local cyclists living in the area – and so they should know the rides well and be able to share lots of local knowledge with you.
• For many offering this kind of informal, independent guiding, it is an additional source of income alongside their day job. As a result, they are usually pretty flexible on dates and the number of days guiding they offer. 

These kinds of guide reach out to us quite frequently. We probably won’t have tried their services ourselves, but if we know someone in the location you want to visit, we’re happy to put you in touch so you can ask your questions direct to them and decide if they’re for you. Drop us a line if you would like us to put you in touch with someone on a “guide only” basis. 

What questions do you ask before booking a bike tour?!

Have we missed anything? Let us know below!

Check out our tours page and this article sharing some of the cycling holiday companies we’ve worked with in Europe – the articles we’ve created with them should give you a good sense of the people behind the brands.

For anyone looking to book a bespoke cycling holiday for a corporate cycling challenge, this article highlights some additional things we look out for in bike tour operators.

We’d also love to hear your favourite bike tour companies. Feel free to share your experiences below and we’ll be sure to reply.

And finally… check out our summary of tours in the following destinations:

• Cycling tours in France
• Cycling tours in Provence
• Cycling tours in Spain
• Cycling tours in Mallorca
• Cycling tours in the Alps
• Cycling tours in Nice
• Cycling tours in the UK
• Cycling tours in Croatia
• Cycling tours in Portugal
• Cycling tours in Italy (Guided)
• Cycling tours in Italy (Self-guided)
• Cycling tours in Tuscany
• Cycling tours in Africa
• Cycling tours across Europe
• Cycling tours in Asia

Clare Dewey is a cyclist with a passion for travel. She set up epicroadrides.com in 2018 to help make it easy for cyclists to explore the world by bike. Today her mission is still inspiring cyclists to discover new places on two wheels - and doing what she can to make sure they have the best possible time while they're there. Clare has visited 50+ destinations around the world, many of them by bike.

Want to connect with Clare? Find her over on LinkedIn.